The Saiyajin by Mameko Saiyengen
by Aoikami Sarah
Summary: Mameko, a scholar and survivor of Vegetasei, and mother of Goku, writes about her people, the Saiyajin.


**The Saiyajin : An Essay****by Mameko Saiyangen**

**Table of Contents  
  
Introduction   
Evolution   
Language   
Society -Family   
-Societal Roles   
-Royals ****  
Religion   
History **

**Introduction**

            When I started my research on my own, extinct race, I had but my own memory and that of My Prince (who had been separated from his people and planet for nearly half a century) for reference. He had been but a boy upon Vegeta-sei's destruction. I was daunted and wondered if I could complete an accurate history armed with so little information. It saddened me to the heart that I would be the only one left to know about the world I had called home. All that changed with our voyage back in time. The Prince destroyed Freeza, King Cold and Cooler, saving Vegeta-sei and allowing me to study the Saiyajin race in the flesh.

            I brought back with me numerous historical and cultural texts and recorded dialogs with Saiyajin elders. Even they did not know everything. There are numerous legends which tell of the Saiyajin struggle through time, but most are just that: legends, not facts. For the facts that even the wisest of Saiyajin scholar did not know, I had to go to a higher authority. Fortunately, my son, Kakarotto happens to be close, personal friends with one such authority: the Kaio of the Western Galaxy. His library proved to be the missing first page in the story of my people. And so I shall tell that story to you, and I will often refer to the Saiyajin in the present tense, because to me, they are still very much alive.

            Let me first begin by putting to rest a few of the various rumors that have circulated throughout the galaxy over the millennia about the Saiyajin. Even Kaio-sama, who hadn't re-read his texts in a thousand years, was misinformed about my race.

            One, they were not simply brutal, savage, thoughtless killers. The Saiyajin are one of the strongest races the galaxy has ever known. This attribute alone caused fear and jealously. Many peoples also believed the Saiyajin took pleasure in preying on the weak. This misconception was generated because their desire to be strong was exploited heavily by Freeza's Planet Trade. While in service to the Planet Trade they did some atrocious things. Although that was only a sliver of their history, it did unfortunately mar their already violent reputation.

            Two, the Saiyajin had a well developed, structured society. They were not crude, offensive, honor-less beings like that handful of soldiers the Planet Trade warped. The greater portion of Saiyajin (who remained on Vegeta-sei and who were all killed in its destruction) were not affected by Freeza's occupation the way the warrior class was.

**Evolution**

            Many thousands of years ago, the people who would come to be called the Saiyajin crawled out of the darkness and evolved into beings capable of forming societal groups and fashion crude tools, much like the Earthling Neanderthal. Similarly, the Saiyajin had another sentient species to contend with on Tsufuru-sei; the Tsufurujin, who, like Homosapeins, were far ahead of the Saiyajin in evolutionary development. As their civilization developed, the Tsufurujin lived in constant fear of their massive, strong, violent neighbors. The Tsufurujin's best defenses against attacks on their people, possessions and domesticated animals were often insufficient against the creatures they dubbed "Saiyatamahito" which roughly translated in Tsufurugo to "People with brains like Vegetables".

            The early Saiyajin were smart enough to learn what poison tasted like and that fences could be electrified, so the Tsufurujin resorted to a practice that went against their gentle nature: they decided to solve their problem by creating an air-born toxin which would pacify the violent killers. It was supposed to manipulate the Saiyatamahito's DNA and instantly turn the feral beasts into civilized, calm creatures of the forest. It did serve to calm the brains of these evolving creatures, but it also had one horrible side affect.

            The Tsufurujin only discovered it as their civilization rained down around them. Their tampering with the people they had considered pests (much as an Earthling farmer feels about the wolf or coyote) caused a serious genetic defect inherited by all Saiyajin from that day forward: the curse of transforming into an Oozaru under the full reflected light of a closely orbiting celestial body.

            The Oozaru (or Giant Were-Monkey form) was at first uncontrollable, but as the generations passed, more and more Saiyajin, especially those who were very strong, were able to retain their consciousness while in this mode, making them very formidable in battle. In this form, the Saiyajin made quick work of the Tsufurujin. They woke the following morning, astounded to find their world in ruin, but soon put the pieces together. The Saiyajin knew they could not survive on a planet they would ravage uncontrollably once every eight years when Tsufuru-sei's moon was full.

            It is unknown if the Saiyajin's strength and ability to heal rapidly as well as grow stronger with each defeat was an effect of the Tsufurujin DNA enhancer. Making use of the technology the Tsufurujin left behind, the Saiyajin destroyed the moon during one of its 2 year quarters. They renamed their planet "Vegeta-sei". For the next 3 thousand years, the Saiyajin evolved further into the beings we are today; intelligent, cultured and civilized, albeit in an often violent way.

**Language**

            The Saiyajin modified the Tsufuru language to better suit their speech pattern. Saiyago remains a harsh, guttural language. It is a language meant to be communicated at high decibel levels. In sound, Saiyago can best be described as a combination of the Earthling languages German, Icelandic and Russian.

            The written language consists of symbols taken from Tsufurugo called 'Blocklanguage'. To write in Blocklanguage, one must have a tool called the Block, which is either a rubber-like stamp which can be pressed into ink or a wedge-type tool wich is pressed into clay or heated so as to burn leather. This is similar to a practice carried out in ancient Babylon on Earth. Babylonians used a wedge tool to press symbols into clay tables in a language called Cuneiform. They had but one shape to work with. Saiyajin Blocklanguage is made up of 13 basic shapes. By flipping13 spokes of the Block with the thumb and forefinger, one can create hundreds of different characters.

            The Block is a difficult instrument to master which requires years of study and practice. Most Saiyajin at the time of Freeza's Occupation were literate, but only approximately 50% of the population could write. Writing was not necessary to the every-day life of the average Saiyajin even before those dark days. If one needed a deed drawn up or an account of a crime taken down, one would go to a scribe, a person trained specifically to write.  
            There is also a handwritten, much slopier version of Blocklanguage which is used unofficially. It is often illegible and is therefore unusable in any legal way, much like the difference between typed text and handwriting. My own handwriting in Earth languages is abysmal, however, as handwritten Blocklanguage goes, I assure you, it's fairly neat.

            I will not provide any further information about Saiyago in this volume. It would require an additional few years of my time to present my language in a way which non-Saiyajin could understand. It is however my main area of expertise. I currently have two students here on Earth and hope, with their help, to begin work on a lesson book and dictionary in the coming years.

**Society**

            Saiyajin culture is one of action. Most outsiders would say 'violence', but there is a fine line between the brutality of sheer violence and the desire to be strong, active and dominant. Class structure, family structure, and indeed the whole of Saiyajin society are based on the need to be dominant.

            Rather than this desire pulling people apart, it draws the Saiyajin together. Family groups are fluid, but very supportive. Class delineations are in constant flux as people gain or lose power within them. In contrast, the only thing that is truly fixed and unshakable in Saiyajin society is the Royal legacy.

            **Family**

            Saiyajin rarely 'marry'. By this I mean they rarely choose one partner with whom they spend the rest of their lives. This is not to say they are unfaithful or unemotional.

            Mating is a contest, as almost all things in Saiyajin life are. The strongest, smartest, handsomest or whatever quality the other partner looks for wins over the lesser competitors. Mating is private. There is no ceremony and often only one of the parents raises the child. However, the family group is large and strong. The Saiyajin know the importance of a good childhood.

            The child is placed into the care of not one, but anywhere from 3 to 20 some odd family members who live in a single community with other family groups. Sometimes the child grows up never knowing his or her father or mother, but it matters little if they have six aunts, four uncles and innumerable cousins and grandparents to raise them. This allows for more flexibility for the parents to do as they please. Saiyajin do not retire when they grow old or after their children are grown. Often, they rejoin family groups they may have been distant from for many years.

            Saiyajin women have an average of 1-4 children and often with 1-4 partners. Saiyajin men have as many children as they desire with just as many partners. Both mothers and fathers share equal semi-responsibility for their offspring, relying on their families for support.

            This practice is not only accepted to aid with upward mobility within the society, but because so many Saiyajin die young due to over-exertion, battles or disease.

            If a couple falls in love - and it does happen! - they 'bond' through meditation, either peacefully or in a fight or a hunt. Each crawls into the other's brain, for a second feeling what the other feels, knowing them intimately. If the bond is successful, the pair will stay faithful for the rest of their lives.

            **Societal Roles**

            The Saiyajin have just as many different roles in their society as any other. To use the word 'caste' to describe these roles would be unfitting. No Saiyajin is born to do what his or her parents did, save the royals. There are rural farming communities, urban technological centers and the Drodjun (what most would refer to as 'the military'). Saiyajin can move as freely between these circles as their talents and ambitions can take them.

            In each different environment, physical prowess and superiority are always a key factor in delineating hierarchies, but nowhere is it more prevalent than in the Drodjun. To be the Drodjun leader is to be third only to the King or Queen and the Viceroy. It is the highest honor a Saiyajin can achieve. Most Drodjun leaders (due to the extreme demands of the position) last only 10 to 20 years. The end of their service is often brought about by their premature deaths.

            All high posts in nearly every aspect of Saiyajin life are attained not by democratic election or by royal assignment, but by obvious worth and valor. Just because a man or woman is well liked, doesn't mean he or she is best suited for the job. Heads of families are often determined by this same method. The obvious leader will rise to the top and guide them through daily life.

            Here I shall blast apart another rumor which I argued about with Kaio-sama Himself. The readings of power level or ki-power did not come into practice until the Occupation. Yes, it is true that Saiyajin babies were measured at birth to determine their power level, but this was a way for Freeza to determine how strong the Saiyajin were and how they progressed as they grew. Of course the Saiyajin's undivided interest in strength made this a very acceptable practice, but it was only implemented in the last six years of Vegeta-sei's existence and had nothing to do placement inside Saiyajin society.

            For six years, Freeza studied the figures that came back from maternity wards and grew very displeased at the results. Over 85% of the babies born in those six years were of Elite status. This scale was based on the average power level of all forms of life serving in the Planet Trade at the time. With these statistics, Freeza knew exactly what kind of a threat the increasingly malcontent Saiyajin race was to his power.

**            Royals**

            The royal family or House of Vegeta is the only social circle which it is next to impossible to join. Let me return to ancient Saiyajin history for a moment. After the end of the Tsufurujin, rudimentary clans which had begun to form became stronger. The dominant Vegeta clan asserted its position early on and gathering other, stronger clans around it, formed the basis of Saiyajin society. The others cowed to the great strength of this man named Vegeta's family. Over the centuries, rules were laid down in order to keep the bloodline strong and establish the House of Vegeta.

            Approximately 2560 years ago, the first recorded Vegeta Ousama's name was inscribed on a tablet for all to see. It was written that his first born child would succeed him to the throne. The second Vegeta was a girl. She was betrothed to a valiant warrior, reined as Queen for nearly 100 years and had 3 sons. The first son, Vegeta the 3rd, died at the age of 5. His younger brother, Sabi then changed his name, becoming Vegeta the 3rd. It was written that out of respect for the passing of the prince, all living people named Sabi would choose another name. The line of succession went thusly for almost two and a half millennia.

            Both men and women can hold the superior position of King or Queen. Their spouse, a person chosen by merit rather than birthright, then becomes the Viceroy and has his or her own set of duties. Should the King or Queen die, the eldest Prince or Princess must marry and assume the throne. The Viceroy then assumes the lesser duty of Dowager.

**Religion**

            Unlike most societies, the Saiyajin have no central belief system. There is no one God or pantheon of Gods and Goddesses, no spirit in the ground or the sky. Saiyajin pray to them selves. They ask themselves for strength, and are only let down by their own failures and lifted up by their own accomplishments. If there is anything they do look up to, it is the strength of the House of Vegeta.

            The Saiyajin do have a creation myth: a story about their origins. There is still little even in the great Kaio-sama's library I can find to back this up, but as children we were all taught that the Saiyajin had arrived on Vegeta-sei (Tsufuru-sei) many thousands of years ago. No one knew quite where we came from. Some said from the ether of outer space itself, others from an experiment the Tsufurujin botched. There were many horror stories about Tsufurujin science, due to lasting impression of the Saiyajin genetic mutation.

            It was said that roughly eight thousand years ago, a man known as the Legendary Super Saiyajin came to power before the Vegeta Clan had even assembled. His enormous power shook the galaxy and many people on many planets felt his wrath. It was after this event that the Saiyajin appeared on Tsufuru-sei. It is uncertain as to whether the Tsufurujin knew or believed this legend, but as there was no record to back this up, it remained filed under mythology until the day the Legendary Super Saiyajin returned, re-incarnated in a Saiyajin named Brolly.

**History**

            As I stated before, all Saiyajin rulers are named Vegeta, whether they are female or not. For roughly 2600 Earth years, the House of Vegeta has ruled, uncontested. Any time a particular King or Queen was challenged, another member of the clan has taken his or her place. The House of Vegeta breeds leaders and also the strongest of Saiyajin. My Prince, the last of the line alive in my dimension would have been King Vegeta the 252nd had he ascended the throne.

            The history of the Saiyajin is too long to place in a general presentation such as this. In addition to the book I plan to write about Saiyago, I plan to translate and present the numerous volumes on Saiyajin history I brought with me from the past and borrowed from Kaio-sama's library in the near future. I will, however discuss the last days of Vegeta-sei here, as I feel, having both lived in a world where the planet was destroyed, and having seen it saved, it is and will be the most important event of historical significance to the Saiyajin since the Tsufurujin poisoning.

            Jousama Vegeta the 520th, grandmother to Vegeta Oujisama was in her fiftieth year of her reign when a race of people called the Arkozian came to her for help. Their planet had been invaded and destroyed by an enemy race. They wanted the strong Saiyajin's help. They entered into a pact in which the Arkozians would trade technological advancement for brute strength. The Saiyajin were given space technology previously unimagined. In return, they sent a small force of warriors to the Arkonian's enemy planet and wiped them from its face. The Arkozians moved in, Saiyajin were able to travel the galaxy freely, and there it would have ended, had not a greedy Icejin not caught wind of the deal.

            Freeza was one of the few Icejin in the universe. He liked the idea of an entire planet as a piece of real estate, especially when he heard that the Saiyajin had gotten and turned down several offers from other races in need of new home-worlds.

            To the Saiyajin, this practice was cowardly, dishonorable but above all not challenging enough for them. Freeza met with Jousama Vegeta and struck a deal to loan a small force like the one that had worked for the Akozians. By the end of her rein only 25 years later, Freeza had control of the entire Drojun army. On her death, Ousama Vegeta the 521st came to power. He had hated his mother for letting this happen to his people and struggled throughout his time on the throne to put an end to Freeza's control.

            Most of Freeza's army was formed from many different races of exceptionally strong individuals, but the Saiyajin all exhibited incredible raw power as a race. Initially, this thrilled the Icejin. But as the years went by and he came to understand that not the entire populace was content to be his pawns, he grew afraid of that power.

            Freeza knew that the then King was insubordinate. After one particularly obvious refusal to do his bidding, Freeza played an unfair hand. The young Prince was in Freeza's ship at the time. He warned the royals that if they ever wanted to see their only heir again, they would play along with his plans.

            Two years would pass uneventfully. Freeza kept the Prince at his side, slowly erasing the values his culture had instilled in him. Meanwhile, Ousama Vegeta's patience was growing short. He demanded a meeting with Freeza on his ship, intending to storm the place, kill Freeza and get his son back. Even though all of his staff knew this was madness, they also felt that another day living under Freeza's occupation would be intolerable. Easily, Freeza killed the King and his entourage, then, like a child tired of his toys, the Icejin blew Vegetasei into atoms with a single blast.

            This information was recited to Vegeta Oujisama by Freeza himself many years later. My Prince then told me after I was freed from a fifty year slumber in a statis chamber.

            To sum up, I will tell you a little about my life. When I was pregnant, I was forced into the Planet Trade as many people who broke Freeza's laws were. Shortly after my baby was born, I was sent on a mission to cleanse a distant planet. Somehow, I was collected by an alien, placed into stasis and only by a serendipitous accident was I freed fifty years later on Earth, the same Planet my son and My Prince had settled on. Imagine my surprise.

            A few years later, I discovered that an earthling had created a time machine. The first idea that came to me was to go back in time and save my planet. However, to disturb the time-space continuum in such a way unfortunately creates another branch of reality: another dimension. Vegeta Oujisama and I traveled back to a few days before the destruction, informed the royals of our intentions, found and eliminated Freeza, his father King Cold and brother Cooler, freeing that universe from their evil forever. We remained for two weeks in which I collected the information I have used in this essay and will use in future works.

            When I returned, I was glad that the Earth I had grown to love was still intact, but I will always yearn to be the version of me I left behind: the Saiyajin who will watch her son grow up, enter the Drojun and make her incredibly proud, as a Saiyajin ought to be.

            I am proud of my heritage and hope that this essay has at least helped soften you, the reader's perception of us. If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to ask. You may write to:

            Mameko Saiyengen

            1 North Wood Place

            Northwestern Territory

            12436-Z

            Or Email sarah at aksarah.com and she will forward your letters to me.


End file.
